Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said,
“I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!”
In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.
Job 1:20-22 New Living Translation (NLT)
When blessed with nice things in life, those who believe that God is the Provider of every good and perfect gift usually give Him glory, praise and thanks. It is very difficult for a human being to thank God in the midst of misery and suffering. God made us and He knows us. Yet, He still seeks to teach us what's really going on. He wants our trust in His goodness. He wants our belief in His power. He wants our faith in His love. God is good but He does allow some things to happen that don't make us happy. How else would we know the difference? We can't miss what we can't measure.
Such was the case with Job. Yet, as Job went through this "test," he was able to put things into perspective and remember where all he had lost came from in the first place. He would not understand right away the reasons for his misfortune, but he did not blame God. That made one less sin for Christ to atone. We can shake our fists at the Most High God when times are rough and we feel cheated for believing in His Word. We can revoke our citizenship as believers in Christ, but that doesn't change anything. In fact, in doing this we may be giving up the one and only thing that can restore us. Instead, we can thank God for the ability to walk through this fire and into the next blaze because He is still protecting us.
This promise of everlasting life is just that: we will be alive to experience it. We will live through it. Our present afflictions too shall pass because we are under the protection and provision of the Living God who loves us beyond our imagination. We can't get too caught up in losing in this world if we are winners in Christ. Jesus didn't just die to save us from sin and reconcile us to God. He got up from that grave to keep us alive to be forever with God. This is not our fight. The battle is the Lord's. Our challenge is to trust that He is fighting for us and live like we believe it.
There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord. The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord. Proverbs 21:30-31 NIV
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